site.btaAHK Poll: Businesses Dissatisfied with Legal Security

AHK Poll: Businesses Dissatisfied with Legal Security

Sofia, April 23 (BTA) - An annual poll by the German-Bulgarian
Chamber of Industry and Commerce (AHK) among 107 of its members
shows overwhelming dissatisfaction with legal security in the
country. The findings were presented by the Chamber's Executive
Director Mitko Vassilev at a BTA-hosted news conference on
Thursday.

The poll was carried out by 16 German chambers of commerce and
industry in Central and Eastern European countries on March 2-3.
 Thirty-seven per cent of respondents say they are very
dissatisfied with legal security in Bulgaria and 39 per cent are
 fairly dissatisfied, placing Bulgaria last among Central and
Eastern European countries in terms of this indicator.

Forty-three per cent express dissatisfaction with measures
against corruption and crime. Compared with other polled
countries Bulgaria ranks third from the bottom ahead of Serbia
and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Seventy-seven per cent of respondents are dissatisfied with the
transparency of public tenders. Compared with other countries
Bulgaria ranks top ahead of Serbia and Slovakia.

Thirty-four per cent of respondents are very happy with the tax
burden in Bulgaria, and 44 per cent are happy. Vassilev says
that this won't be enough as an incentive without predictability
 of political decisions, consistency in the work of the state
administration and the rule of law.

Vassilev said that assessments remain relatively unchanged from
last year. Eighty-eight per cent of the companies say that they
would choose Bulgaria again to invest.

According to German data, in 2014 two-way exchange totalled 5.9
billion euro, an increase of  10 per cent from the previous
year. The Chamber expects that the results will be better this
year. However, German investments here are 275 million euro less
 but there is no mass exodus of German businesses.